"Cameroon's forest people pay price for country's hydropower ambitions." 26 July 2017

The forest along the confluence of the Lom and Pangar rivers is being cleared to prepare the second phase of construction of the Lom Pangar dam, a government hydropower project... Members of forest communities complain that their needs are being disregarded as Cameroon's government pushes to bring electricity to more of the country... Cameroon's government is touting the construction of three new dams... to increase hydro-electric generation... Environmental experts say the plans threaten the biodiversity of the river basin and its surrounding rich forest, as well as the survival of indigenous communities that rely on natural resources... [According to] farmer Gregore Nvogo, "we will continue to lose our forest, our land, and our fishing opportunities. The Lom Pangar dam has virtually submerged our forest and land for agriculture, pushing us to cultivate far away."... Local community leaders say that it is difficult for them to monitor the projects' impact on the forest and the indigenous population because they are not included in discussions about those issues... However, government and development partners say that all the rights of the affected communities in the hydro dam projects will be respected.